AGENDA #11

MEMORANDUM

TO: Mayor and Town Council

FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT: Information for Discussion of Weaver Dairy Road Improvement Project

DATE: April 8, 2002

The following information is provided as reference material for the Council’s discussion(s) of the proposed Weaver Dairy Road Improvement Project between NC 86 and Erwin Road.

BACKGROUND

The improvement of Weaver Dairy Road between NC 86 and Erwin Road was ranked high throughout the 1990’s on the Town’s list of projects to be included in the State Transportation Improvement Program. State project development work began in 1999, and eventually included study of three-lane, four-lane, four-lane median divided, and five-lane cross section design alternatives. The following chronology outlines the project history:

APRIL 28, 1999 - Town and State hosted a Citizens’ Informational Workshop to present information on proposed Weaver Dairy Road improvement alternatives. Four alternatives were presented at the workshop, two with five-lane undivided cross sections and two with four-lane median divided cross sections. At the workshop, Town Council members in attendance requested that the State also study design alternatives involving four-lane and three-lane undivided cross sections.

NOVEMBER 14, 2000 - The Town sponsored an informational workshop to provide an opportunity for interested citizens to review drawings and information about the project design alternatives and to discuss the project with Town and State staff. This workshop and subsequent discussions included information developed by the State for three-lane, four-lane undivided, four-lane median divided, and five-lane undivided cross sections.

NOVEMBER 20, 2000 - The Town Council held a Public Forum to discuss proposed Weaver Dairy Road improvement alternatives and to receive citizens’ comments about the project.

JANUARY 22, 2001 - The Town Council received a staff report on the proposed Weaver Dairy Road improvement alternatives, including staff responses to Council and citizen questions and comments expressed at the November 20, 2000 Public Forum referenced above. State and Town staff recommended that the Council adopt a resolution endorsing a conceptual design for Weaver Dairy Road between NC 86 and Erwin Road to include a four-lane median divided cross section consisting of two travel lanes in each direction, wide outside lanes to accommodate bicycle use, a raised center median with exclusive turn lanes and refuge for pedestrians, curb/gutter/sidewalk along both sides of the road, and bus pull-offs as necessary.

JANUARY 22, 2001 - The Town Council adopted a resolution endorsing a conceptual design for Weaver Dairy Road to include three-lane undivided cross section without a raised center median consisting of one fourteen foot wide travel lane in each direction, a continuous center turn lane, curb/gutter/sidewalks along both sides, and bus pull-offs as necessary.

JANUARY 26, 2001 – The Mayor sent a letter to the State Project Development Engineer with a copy of the Council resolution endorsing a three-lane cross section for Weaver Dairy Road.

FEBRUARY 15, 2001 - The Mayor received a letter from the State Project Development Engineer advising the Town that the State would not recommend construction of the three-lane cross section endorsed by the Town Council and would proceed with design of the four-lane median divided cross section recommended by State.

APRIL 4, 2001 - A delegation of Town Council members met with the State Transportation Secretary and his staff to present the Council decision to endorse a three-lane undivided project for Weaver Dairy Road and to request that the State reconsider its recommendation for a four-lane divided cross section.

MAY 21, 2001 - The Town Manager received a letter from the State Transportation Secretary advising the Town that the State maintained its earlier recommendation that Weaver Dairy Road be improved to a four-lane median divided roadway, and noting that the State would not proceed further with project development until the Town endorsed the State recommended cross section.

JUNE 25, 2001 - The Town Council adopted a resolution endorsing the State recommended design for Weaver Dairy Road between NC 86 and Erwin Road to include a median divided four-lane cross section consisting of two travel lanes in each direction, wide outside lanes to accommodate bicycle use, a raised center median with exclusive left turn lanes and refuge for pedestrians, curb/gutter/sidewalk along both sides of the road, and bus pull-offs as necessary. This resolution was forwarded to the State.

AUGUST 16, 2001 - The Mayor received a letter from the State Transportation Secretary acknowledging the Council’s endorsement of the four-lane median divided cross section, and agreeing to proceed with project development on that basis.

FEBRUARY 2002 - The Town Manager received a copy of the Environmental Assessment for the Weaver Dairy Road Project, and copies of the document were distributed to the Council. The State advised Town staff that a Public Hearing on the project was tentatively scheduled for late spring 2002.

FEBRUARY 12, 2002 - At the direction of the Town Council, the Mayor wrote a letter to the State Transportation Secretary asking that the State suspend further development of the Weaver Dairy Road Improvement Project to allow more time for the Town Council to consider alternatives to the currently endorsed project.

MARCH 12, 2002 - The Mayor received a letter from the State Transportation Secretary agreeing to suspend all work on the Weaver Dairy Road Improvement Project for 45 days.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Presently, the Weaver Dairy Road Improvement Project is identified in the State Transportation Improvement Program for approximately $11 million in funding for right-of-way acquisitions and construction. The project is currently scheduled to proceed in three phases as follows:

Section A – NC 86 to Sunrise Road. Right-of-way acquisition FY 2004 and Construction FY 2006.

Section B – Sunrise Road to start of new alignment. Right-of-way acquisition FY 2003 and Construction FY 2005.

Section C - New alignment connection to Sage Road. Right-of-way acquisition FY 2004 and Construction FY 2005.

The estimated cost of sidewalk installation on the currently proposed project is $400,000. Depending on negotiations with the State and cost-sharing formulae for sidewalk construction, we anticipate that the local share of sidewalk costs for the currently approved project could range from zero to $80,000 depending on how Direct Allocation money through our Metropolitan Planning Organization can be utilized to pay all or a portion of the sidewalk costs. We were investigating options with the State when project work was suspended, and we have not reached a final conclusion to date.

The State has reviewed the question of retrofitting a raised median in sections of the proposed project where a five-lane cross section now exists. This is primarily in the section adjacent to the Silvercreek and Chesley subdivisions. It has been determined that such medians should be installed to provide continuity in the project and the State has agreed to pay the full cost of retrofitting medians as necessary. The estimated cost of the retrofitted medians is $350,000.

State project development staff met with the Town’s Transportation Director and tentatively located bus pull-off locations. These locations are noted on page four of the Environmental Assessment document. Typically, the exact location of each pull-off is confirmed and/or adjusted as necessary once preliminary design drawings have been completed.

New traffic signals have been approved for installation with the currently proposed project at the Carol Woods entrance and Sunrise Road intersections with Weaver Dairy Road.

The State has reconfirmed that the currently proposed project would be designed such that; (1) reasonable access would be provided to properties fronting on Country Road and no direct driveway connections between these properties and Weaver Dairy Road would be necessary, (2) existing improvements including sidewalks, landscaping and walls adjacent to the Silvercreek and Chesley subdivisions would be undisturbed and, (3) construction would be adjusted as necessary to assure the viability of the large trees and rose bushes near the entrance to the Carol Woods facility.

The State has agreed to consider traffic calming and other potential safety improvements in its design of the currently proposed project, and State staff have worked with Town staff and the Council appointed citizens’ committee charged with identifying potential safety improvements on the existing and proposed Weaver Dairy Road.

We have compiled and attached a variety of information for the Council’s use in discussing the proposed Weaver Dairy Road Improvement Project. Town and State staff will be available during discussions of this project to answer questions and to provide additional information that the Council may require.